Little Elanor in the Big Woods
by LittleLeprechaunOfToasterworld
Summary: After hearing the wild stories of her uncles, little Elanor decides to find the truth for herself.


Disclaimer: I do not own these people or places, Tolkien and New Line Cinema do. However, the plot is an original by me. :) 

Thoughts are in /

Little Elanor in the Big Woods by LittleLeprechaunOfToasterWorld

"And the trees talk to each other."

"Uncle Merry, you're crazy! Trees cannot talk!"

"Well, the trees of Fangorn Forest do, Elanor."

"Maybe nobody told them they couldn't."

"Shut up, Pippin! Anyway, Elanor, if you go into the Old Forest at the edge of Buckland you'll see things just as strange. The trees of the Old Forest do move, you know."

"Now you're really being silly, Uncle Merry! Trees can't just get up and walk away."

"Then your Uncle Pippin and I must both be cracked, we've seen them move."

"He's right, Elanor. And then there's those Ents, the giant tree shepherds."

"You two tell the wildest stories. I'm not five anymore, I'm almost twelve and I can tell you're making it up."

"Well we can't force you to believe our stories, but I have a feeling you'll find the truth for yourself. You've never been one to sit still when there's a mystery to solve. Just be careful in the Old Forest."

"How did you know?"

"Elanor, I've known you for all of those 'almost twelve' years. I can tell."

"Say hullo to old Tom Bombadil for us when you see him."

"Honestly, Uncle Pip, I don't plan on getting lost like you guys did."

"Well, we didn't plan on getting lost either. Just tell him we say hullo anyway."

"Riiight."

The old brass key stuck for a bit before finally clicking in the lock. Elanor swung the rusted metal gate open on its squeaky hinges. Even in daylight the Old Forest appeared dark and forbidding. Dead leaves skittered across the ground, eddying into piles of washed out gold and brown foliage. The gloom weighed heavily upon her, making it difficult to breathe properly. It felt like being smothered when one has too many heavy quilts on one's bed. A breeze rippled Elanor's curly, blond locks, and she suddenly became apprehensive about an adventure in the misty woods.

Elanor pulled the grey Elven cloak tighter around her shoulders. The garment once belonged to her Uncle Frodo, but he had left it for her when he went across the sea. She wished she'd been able to know her uncle, but she had been so very young at his parting. She half-believed this cloak of his possessed magical properties and always wore it for adventuring. But now was no time for fuzzy, half-remembered memories, the Old Forest lay ahead.

Elanor inhaled the heavy air deeply and crossed the threshold of the forest. Even the ground felt different beneath her bare feet, more sandy than the rest of the earth in the Shire. The stories of Uncles Merry and Pippin became more plausible in her mind as she approached the trees. There was something decidedly sinister about them; they were nothing like the other trees she knew of. A whispery clarinet-like sound passed between the trees. One might believe they were.talking to each other.

A leaf popped behind Elanor and she started.

/Good grief/ she thought as her heart rate began to return to normal/this is ridiculous! There is nothing to get so jumpy about! They're just trees/

Nevertheless, a tingle crept up the young halfling's spine as mists and vapor swirled about her, enveloping her small form like a wet blanket. At only two and a half feet high, she realized how easy it would be to become lost in this giant forest and never be heard from again.

Deciding that discretion really is the better part of valor, Elanor turned around to leave. The Old Forest was as creepy as her uncles had told her, and she really didn't want to work at proving the rest of their stories just now. The Old Forest seemed to have other ideas, though.

The fog reached higher than her head and had thickened to a cream soup-like consistency. Elanor could barely see six inches in front of her face, let alone the gate more than ten feet away. Her blue eyes blinked rapidly to stave off tears, but they clouded her vision anyway.

Alone in a wood full of frightening trees, little Elanor wept.

"I want to go home!" Elanor cried out. "Leave me alone, you stupid trees!"

"Ummm.Elanor, I don't think the trees did anything to you."

"Uncle Merry?" Elanor managed to ask between sobs.

"The one and only," he replied with a small smile.

"I'm so glad you're here! I got lost and it was getting dark and--," she gasped in surprise to discover she was sitting a mere foot from the gate. And there was no mist. And the birds were flitting across the sunny blue sky. "But, but, but.."

"Here, let me help you." Merry helped Elanor stand up and brushed her off. "Hey, wearing Frodo's old cloak, are you?"

Elanor nodded mutely.

"Well then, you really had nothing to be afraid of, you know. These old cloaks got us through some pretty tough times and scary situations," he whispered and then rumpled her hair. "Why don't we go home and have some hot tea. Will that make you feel better?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Elanor's voice sounded a little disappointed.

"And next week we can all go and see the forest together, okay?"

Reassured by this promise, Elanor agreed, "Okay, let's go home. And you were right, those trees do talk."

Merry chuckled and clasped the young lass' hand, then lead her out of the spooky forest.


End file.
